Friday, March 25, 2005
Quality of Life
What does this mean? Quality of life? Ive been thinking about it for a few days now and am still wondering what it is.Does it mean that you are happy? have all your body functions? can walk/talk/communicate?.For me my quality of life is determined by what I can do ...not what I cant do.As long as I can feel and breathe and comprehend I have life.If I can go outside to hear the birds singing,if I can sit on the grass and watch ants working,if I can feel a kiss on my cheek,if I can smile and laugh,if I can read,if I can love and if I can understand my environment I have quailty of life.
I have 2 paralysed friends.One who feels nothing from the waist down and one who can only feel from his neck up.Both were injured in motorbike accidents.They have been in wheelchairs for almost 30 yrs.Of course they cant run,they cant feel their feet and its been a hard road for them,but they are happy guys ...they laugh,they search the net,they watch TV,they go to parties,they have lots of support from friends and family and they give so much to all of us.Weve learned humilty from them.
Terri Shciavo has none of these things.She cant talk or feel.She cant understand.
I pray for her every day and hope that God will take her home very soon.But her purpose on this earth has been to make us all talk and question what we would want for ourselves.Its made us all think about what we can live with and about how much of what has been taken off us that we can cope with.She has had a strong will to live but she doesnt know it.Shes been kept alive with no quality of life.Her choice was that if she ever was to get into the situation where she was brain dead she would not want life support.I dont either.It has to be a personal decision and not one to be made by any govt.We should all have the last call.OUr bodies are ours.
posted by butterflies @ 6:02 AM
4 Comments:
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AMEN, Sister!!! To choose to die with dignity is our last vestige of freedom. I pray for Terry & her family also. It is so hard to watch a loved one die, but how much harder it must be when they are here, but not really-when they cannot tell you what they want or feel. What torment. You are right she has no life or quality of life. Her dignity has been taken. I, too, hope she crosses over to the Other Side soon & is alive once more in the arms of God.
I have an Advance Medical Directive & a Do Not Resusitate (forgive spelling)-DNR. I also made sure that I named medical proxies who understand my requests & will follow them (they are not family members who might be swayed by emotions).
Bless, Terry & all the Terry's of the world.
Namaste'
Hi D..yep if anythings been gained from this it is that we should ALL have a living will.We never know when the govt will step into our lives next!
oh how scarey and horrific.. I think my hubby has a living will, but I don't. I should do that someday, strange that I haven't because I was the one with the most thoughts on the subject.
tricky, tricky...